Method of coating and machine



March 2 2, 1932. M C, MEYER 1,850,409

METHOD 0F COATING AND MACHINE Filed Nov 10, 1928 6 SheetsQSheet l/Vaxim//an C. Meje @q /7/5 abtgmm j) af@ March 22,'1932, M, C, MEYER1,850,409

METHOD OF COATING AND MACHINE March 22, 1932. M C, MEYER 1,850,409

ME'IhHOD 0F COATING AND MACHINE Filed Nov 10I l928 6 Sheets-Sheet 5Sinne/nmz March 22,1932. l M C;A MEYER 1,850,409

METHOD OF' OATING AND MACHINE uvmtcz Max/'mi//a C. Maj er' March 22,1932. M, C; MEYER 1,850,409

' METHOD oF coATING AND MACHINE Filed Nov 1o, 1928 e sheets-sheet 5 1nbawcoz /WQx/mi/ian C MaJ/er.'

March 22, 1932. M, C 'MEYER 1,850,409

METHOD oF comme' AND MACHINE Filed Nov 10. 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 6Suva/nim Patented Manzz, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAXIMILIAN C.MEYER, F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, .SSIGNOR T0 JOSEPH H. MEYER BROTHERS, OFBROOKLYN, NEW YORK, .A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK METHOD OF COATING ANDMACHINE Application led November 10, 1928. 'Serial No. 318,333.

This invention relates in general to a method of coating and machine forcoating objects of jewelry, as for instance imitatlon pearl beads.

One of the objects of this invention is the provision of a method andmachine for coating imitation pearls and the like by means of which alarge number may be rapidly treated to produce a high-grade product.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an apparatus ofthe above type by means of which imitation pearl beads and the like maybe coated to give them a motherof-pearl appearance without the necess1tyof manual manipulation thereof, thereby reducing the number of rejectsand producing a more uniform roduct.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an apparatus bymeans of which the objects to be coated are moved through the coatingliquid and continuously revolved about their axes as they movetherethrough.

A still further object of this invention contemplates means by which theexcess coating material may be attracted from or removed from thesurface of the object being coated without leaving marks or ridges inthe iin-,

ished product. f Another object, especially in the treatment of roundimitation pearl beads, is to move'.

them through the coating liquid so that only the lower half of the beadsis submerged and at vthe, same time the beads are rotated upon i theiraxes of support so that as they move throughthe liquid their entiresurface comes in contact therewith.

A still further object of this invention conj yFigure 1 is an endelevational view of themachine of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of the machine; j Q

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view with some parts in cross section;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the machine;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevational view ofthe driving gearsemployed, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view showing the mechanism for rotating thebeads supports.;

. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 at. right angles thereto;

Fig..B 8 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail view of the shaft by means of which theliquidcontaining pan is raised and lowered;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail view showing more clearly the path of thebeads through the coating compound;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged cross sectional view through the pan for holdingthe coating liquid showing the relative (position of the beads withrespect to the liqui Fig. 12 is a similar view taken fat right angles tothat of Fig. 11 al'so showing the relationship between the beads and thecoating liquid;

Figs. showing the movement of the beads with respect to the pan;

Fig. 15 is a diagrammaticillustration of .q the drum illustratingthe waythe wires are supported thereon; and

Fig. 16 is a diagramamtic view showing the position ofthe wires andbeads as they ascend and descend on the rotation of the drum.

At the present time it is the customary and usual practice in themanufacture vof imitation pearl beads and similar objects in which aglass bead core is coated .with a solution containing fish scale essenceto dip the glass core-A in the coating combination by hand either one ata time or a number at a time. The beads in this process 'are attached toshort straight pins or toothpicks anddipped either one at a time or anumber at a time and 13 and 14 are diagrammatic views p kept in motionby setting them upright and turning them upside down from time to timein orderto produce an even distribution of the coating material on theglass core as they dry. Great skill and care are necessary in order toproduce a uniform product bythis method and even under the bestconditions there is a great waste of material due to an inferiorproduct. 'The general purpose of this invention is to provide a machineand process by means of which the glass or paste core forming thenucleus of the beads may be rapidly and uniformly coated in quantitieswithout the intervention of an excessive amount of manual manipulation.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by reference to thedrawings. The machine is shown comprising a supporting base 1 havingparallel beams 2 secured thereto upon which rests the spaced uprightstandards 3, supporting in turn the upright brackets 4. The brackets 4are united by the transverse bar 5 and the standards 3 are united by thetransverse bar 5a. These parts are all made heavy so as to provide arigid strong frame which is relatively free from vibration during theoperation of the machine. Supported `on each standard 3 is a largestationary ring comprising the arcuate sections 6 united together byplates 7. The periphery of the composite ring is provided with teeth asclearly shown in the drawings. The composite ring is rigidly secured tothe standard 3, bracket 4, and arms 8. Supported on one of the standards3 is an arm 9 providing one journal for the rotatable shaft 10 on whichis mounted for free rotation the spur gear 17 and the sprocket wheel 11.These two gears are connected together to be rotated simultaneously bymeans of the chain driven from the electric motor 16 through a worm 15,Worm wheel 14, and sprocket wheel 13. Spur gear 17 meshes with gear 18which drives spur gear 19 meshing with gear 20. Spur gear 22^is drivenby means of the gear 20, both of which are supported on the bracket 21.The spur gear 22 meshes with the large gear 23 which is attached to andsupported upon the large disc 25. A similar disc 25 is provided which isunited to the other disc 25 by means of the cross brace 25". A largedisc 37 having a chamfered edge is also mounted on shaft 10 and has adiameter equal to the distance between the centers of any two chucksdiametrically opposite each other on discs 25. These two discs withtheir cross braces provide a large drum which is mounted upon therotatable shaft 10 and secured thereto for rotation therewith. Thediameter of the discs 25 is somewhat greater than the diameter of thecomposite ring 6 and has mounted near the periphery thereof andextending entirely therearound a plurality of small spur gears 26 whichmesh with the teeth onl the periphery of the composite ring 6. Thesespur gears 26 are attached to a short round rod 27 which has holestherethrough and set screws 28 to provide in effect small chucks. Smallbushings 29 are provided (Fig. 8) in which the chucks 27 rotate. On theinner surface of each standard 3 is an L-shaped bracket 30 through whicha shaft 32 passes lhaving a notch 32a near each end at the point wherethe shaft passes through the brackets 30. These brackets support theplatform 31 on which the pan 34 for holding the coating material rests.`The hand wheel 33 is provided for rotating the shaft 32. Angle irons 35attached to platform 31 are spaced apart so that the pan will just slidebetween them. This serves as a centering means for the pan. As clearlyshown in Fig. 10, movable stops 38 are provided which may be moved backand forth through the agency of rods 40 and thumb nut 36. By means ofthese stopsI and the angle bars 35 the pan may be exactly centered.

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 show more clearly the pan construction. rlhe pan-34is provided with a vertical plate 41 which extends to the same height asthe sides of the pan so that the top edges of the sides of the pan and'the vertical plate 41 lie substantially in the same plane. The wires -Was they approach the lowest point in their travel at the time the beadsare in the liquid Contact with these edges which support them andprevent stretching of the wiresv W.

In the best and preferred form of the apparatus and method of procedurethe supporting wires W instead of extending across the drumperpendicularly to the ends thereof are placed at an angle with respectto the ends, as clearly shown in Fig. l5. 1n other words, instead ofplacmg the two ends of a supporting wire in the chucks directly oppositeeach other one end is advanced one or more chucks so that the supportingwires extend at an angle with respect to the axis about which the drumrotates. r1`he advantage of so mounting these wires is highly importantand will be described in detail later.

In the operation of the machine and the process' hand wheel 33 isrotated so that the notches 32a in shaft 32 are upwardly. As a resultthe vertically slidable brackets 30 are able to descend to the lowermostlimit of their movement. The pan is then placed on the platform 31 andproperly centered by means of the thumb nuts 36. The coating compound isthen flowed into the pan until it comes right up to the top edges of thepan. The beads Bor objects to be coated are strung upon wires indicatedbythe legend VV They are spaced apart from each other the properdistance and held there by means of any suitable adhesive. In th-e bestpractice of this invention the beads do not need to be cemented to llOthe supporting wire since with the parts properly adjusted and thecoating compound of the proper height in the pan the wireswill justtouch the -top of the liquid during the first revolution of the drumwhen the beads receive their first coating. The result is a lsufficientamount of the coating compound gets on the wire to hold the beadssecurely thereto. Furthermore, a little ofthe coating compound will rundown from the bead to the wire to help fasten it in place. Of course, itis important that only a very minute quantity of the coating compoundshould collect around the hole in the bead through which the wire passesotherwise an inferior product will be produced. The wires with the beadsstrung thereon in spaced relation and secured thereto are then securedin the chucks 27. The wires are drawn as tightly as possible and theparts are so proportioned that the wire just rests upon the periphery ofthe disc 37. Although itis possible to get a fairly good product bysupporting the wires on the drum parallel to the axis of rotation it isby far best to incline them at an angle, as described above and shown inFig. 12. I intend, however, that either method of supporting the wiresshall be construed within the scope of my invention. It is, of course,understood that chucks are provided around the entire edge of discs 25so that a very large number of wires carrying beads can be handled atthe same time.

Motor 16 is then started and the drum is rotated in the followingmanner. Itis pointed out that the gear reduction is such that it takesabout five minutes for a complete rotation of the drum. Spur gear 17 isdriven from the motor by means of worm 15, worm wheel 14, sprocket wheel13, chain 12, and sprocket Y wheel 11. Spur gear 17 cooperates with gear18 to drive spur gear 19 which in turn cooperates lwith gear 2O to drivespur gear 22. Spur gear 22 meshing with the large gear 23 causes it torotate very slowly. The -movement of gear 23 carries with it, since itis attached to one of the discs 25, the drum comprising discs 25, crossbraces 25a, and disc 37. As the drum rotates the small spur gears 26meshing with the fixed teeth on the composite ring are caused to revolvevery slowly and as a result the beads on the wire rotate slowly upontheir axes.

The pan 34 is filled with the coating compound up to the very top edgethereof. Hand wheel 33 is then revolved to cause the notched portion ofshaft 32 to turn downwardly and the semi-circular portion thereof takingits place. This causes the brackets 30 to raise upwardly carrying thepan 34 up very close to the periphery ofthe drum.

As clearly shown inFigs. 10, 11 and 12 in the proper relation of theparts the wires W supporting the beads contact with or very nearlycontact with the upper edge of the pan and wall 41. As they drumcarrying the strings of beads slowly rotates each wire and its beadsslowly descend into the liquid through the various stages. The wires Wsupporting the beads as they get near the liquid contact with thetransverse wall 41.and top edges of the side walls of the pan, thepurpose of which is to relieve the strain on the wires W so that they donot sag and dipthe beads too far into the coating compound. As theobjects Contact with the liquid they are slowly revolving through theagency of spur gears 26 so that although only a/ portion of them issubmerged the entire surface of the beads is coated due to the fact thatthey actually revolve in the coating compound.

The importance of supporting the wires on the drum at an angle to theaxis of rotation will now be clearly disclosed. Reference is made toFigs. 13 and 14 of the drawings in which a top and edge view of the panare respectively shown. Assuming that the drum rotates in a clockwisedirection when viewed from the right hand end, the wires W shown in Fig.13 will be moving toward the observer. As the upper wire W approachesthe pan, it being understood that it is also descending since it istraveling in a circularopath, the first bead to touch the coatingcompound will be the right hand bead, as viewed in the figure.

vThe other beads then dip into the coating compound one after the otherproceeding from the right to the left. The beads at the lowest point oftheir descent are submerged so that the lower half or a portion of thelower half of the bead is dipped into the coating compound.` It is to beremembered that the supporting wires W are rotated Vupon their axes lofsupport at the same time as they advance so that the entire surface ofthe bead is covered. One of the advantages which distinguishes themethod of advancing the wire at an angle with respect to the pan foradvancing it parallel theretowill become apparent upon examining Fig.14. J ust as the first bead on the right is the first one to enter theliquid, so it is the first one to leave the liquid. As a result thecapillary attraction between the beads and the coating compound attractsfirst at the right hand bead as the wire advances towards the observerand begins to rise after reaching the lowest point in its descent as thedrum rotates. The beads then leave the coating solution one after theother proceeding from the right to the left and as a result Vthe wall ofcoating liquid, which has been indicated at C, recedes from the righttowards the left, the receding edge being indicated at E. The wall ofcoating liquid having a considerable-capillary attraction from theexcess coatwith it as the wall C recedes to the left. .The net result ofthis operation is that the beads are completely coated over their entiresur- 'ing liquid on the beads draws this excess off Y lill face and byexcess coating liquid is removed. The rotation of the beads about theiraxes of support also acts to edect a more complete removal of the excesscoating liquid by the receding wall. Thus, by effecting the movement ofthe wire with respect to the pan so that one end of the wire enters andleaves the coating solution before the other end, advantage is taken ofthe capillary attraction of the wall of coating solution thus formed tocause a complete removal of the excess coating solution from the beads.It has been found in practice that the first complete rotation of thedrum to give the beads their first coating results in a lowering of theliquid surface in the pan by reason of a removal of a portion of theliquid so that upon the next rotation of the drum the supporting Wiresdo not touch the liquid and no further liquid is, therefore, taken up bythem. The result is that the beads are very nicely secured to the wirein spaced relation with the following operations. It is, of course,understood'that to produce a high grade bead it is necessary to vapply anumber of coatings thereto. Between each coating the beads are permittedto dry for 'approximately one hour after each coating is applied to thebeads. The pan is lowered and the drum is permitted to rotate forapproximately twenty minutes until the coating compound sets. Themachine may then be stopped and the beads permitted to completely dryfor the remainder of the hour.

Another important advantage of mounting the wires on the drum at anangle with respect to its axis of rotation will now be set forth. Whenthe wires are mounted parallel to the axis of rotation of the drum thecoating compound before it sets has a tendency to iow to the point ofgreatest diameter of the beads as they revolve slowly on their axesresulting in the production of a coating film -which is thicker at thepoint of greatest diameter of the bead than at the other points. Thisresults in an inferior product. By referring to Figs. 15 and 16 themethod of overcoming this by mounting thewires at an angle will beapparent. The full lines indicated by W, as shown in Fig. 15, representthe wires on the front of the drum which would be rising Aas viewed bythe observer when the drum rotates in a clockwise direction, as viewedfrom the right. When the wires shown in full: lines reach a position onthe opposite side of the drum indicated by the dotted lines they are*inclined in the opposite direction so that the right hand ends of thewires which were higher than the left hand ends as the wires ascend arenow lower as the wires descend.

The advantage of this is apparent fromy Fig. 16 in which the Wire shownin full lines with the bead B thereon when rising as it would on thefront surface of the drum t causes theright hand end of the bead to behigher than the left hand end, while the wire when descending on therear surface of the drum would be in the position shown by thedottedline and the right hand end of the bead will be lower than theleft hand end. At the same time the beads are revolving about their axesof support, which is the Wire, so it is at once apparent that thecoating compound so long as it is fiuid enough to How will becontinually distributedgover the surface of the bead and when thecoatingcompound sets suiiiciently to prevent no further flow thereof the beadwill be evenly coated over the entire surface. All during thisopera-tion it will be remembered that the beads are being `slowlyrotated upon their axes so that as the coating compound dries it isevenly distributed over the bead. In the best practice the wires Wshould not get into the coating compound, except as described, which isprevented by the tightness with which they are held in the chucks and bythe wall 41. l/Vith the parts properly adjusted the `beads are evenlycoated without the concentration of the coating compound at the pointwhere the wire passes through the bead. By means of this arrangement avery fine product is produced. After all the beads on the drum havepassed through the liquid for any one coating the pan is lowered and thedrum stopped for about one hour so that the coating may properly dry.The drum is then started and the pan raised and the second coatingapplied. This is continued until the proper number of coats are applied,depending upon the quality of bead desired.

The length of time required for each coating to set and dry can be fixedby varying the amount of amylacetate which is the solvent employed forthe l'coating compound, as is well known in this art. Thus, as thequantity of solvent is increased the time required for each layer ofcoating to set and dry is increased and the opposite effect is securedwhen the amount of solvent is decreased. By properly preparing thecoating compound and varying the speed of operation of the machine whenused in accordance with the principles of this invention it is possibleto produce coated beads of a very high quality much more easily,cheaplyand rapidly than is now possibleh by means of skilled hand labor.

I am, ofcourse, well aware that many ychanges in the details ofconstruction and procedure will readily occur to those skilled. in theart and I do not, therefore, desire to I lparent principles involved inthis invention and the broad method of carrying them out. I have soughtto define the scope of my invention in the appended claims setting forththe important features thereof.

Iss

What I seek to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. The method of coatingI beads and the like/which comprises Stringing aplurality of bead cores upon aA supporting wire in spaced relation,moving the wire through a coating compound and revolving the wire sothat the beads rotate on their axes as they move through the coatingcompound.

2. The method of coating beads and the like comprising supporting aplurality of bead cores in spaced relation, moving said bead coresthrough a vcoating compound and revolving the bead cores on their axesas they move through the coatin compound.

3. The method of coating eads and the like which comprises supporting aplurality y of bead cores in spaced relation, immersing the bead coresin a coating compound so thatv a small portion only of the bead cores iscovered, and rotating the bead cores about their 'axes to cover theirentire surface as they move through the coating compound.

4. In an apparatus of the type described for coatingbead cores and thelike, the combination comprising a supporting member, means for securinga plurality of bead cores in said supporting member, means forcontaining a coating compound, and means for moving said supportingmember so that the bead cores advance through the coating compound in acontinuous movement.

5. In an apparatus of the type described for coating bead cores and thelike which comprises a rotatable drum, means on said drum for supportinga plurality of wires, said wires having a plurality of bead coresthereon in spaced relation, means for containing a coating compound, andmeans for revolving said drum so that the bead cores move through thecoating compound in a continuous movement.

6. In an apparatus as described for coating.

bead cores and the like, the combination comprising a rotatable drum, aVplurality of chucks on said drum for holding wires therein on which arestrung a plurality of 'bead cores, means for containing a coatingcompound, and means for revolving said drum to move the bead cores in asteady continuous movement through the coating compound.

7. In an apparatus of the type described for coating bead cores and thelike, the combination comprising a rotatable member comprising twospaced plates, a plurality of chucks secured near the periphery of saidplates, each chuck on one plate being in alignment with a chuck on theother plate, means for revolving said rotatable member, means forrevolving said chucks when said rotatable member rotates, and means forsupporting the coating compound in close proximity tp the moving `beadswhereby they are partially immersed the coating compound as therotatable member revolves so that the beads both continuously revolve inand through the coating compound.

' 8. In an apparatus of the type described for coating bead cores, thecombination comprising a rotatable member, a plurality of chucks'supported o n said member, means for rotating said chucks as said drumrotates, said chucks being intended to support wires on which aplurality of bead cores are secured in spaced relation, means forcontaining the coating compoundand means for moving said means in closeproximity to the periphery of said rotatable member whereby the beadcores are partially immersed in the coating compound and revolved upontheir axes f as they move slowly therethrough.

9. In an apparatus of the type described for coating bead cores and thelike, the combination comprising a rotatable member, a plurality ofchucks supported on said rotatable member in spaced relation and inalignment with .each other, said chucks being adapted to hold wires onwhich the bead cores are mounted in spaced relation, means forcontinuously revolving said rotatable member, means for revolving saidchucks as said rotatable member continuously revolves, a pan for holdinga coating compound, and means for moving said pan in close proximity tothe periphery of said rotatable member whereby the bead cores arepartially immersed in the coating compound as the rotatable memberrevolves and rotated upon their axes of support.

10. In an apparatus of the type described for coating bead cores and thelike, the combination comprising a rotatable member, a plurality ofchucks supported on said rotatable member in spaced relation and inalignment with each other, said. chucks being adapted to hold wires onwhich the bead coresV are mounted in spaced relation, means forcontinuously revolving said rotatable member, means for revolving saidchucks as said rotatable member revolves continuously, a pan for holdinga coating compound, and means for moving said pan in close proximity tothe periphery of said rotatable means whereby when the rotatable meansrevolves the bead cores are partially immersed in the coating compoundand caused to revolve about their axes of support. i

11. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination comprising arotatable member, means on said member for supporting a plurality ofwires upon which a plurality of wires upon which a plurality of beadsare supported in spaced relation, means for continuously rotating saidrotatable member, and means for supporting a pan in close proximity tosaid rotatable member.

12. In an apparatus of the type described, the` combination comprising arotatable member," means on said member for supporting va plurality ofwires upon which a plurality means for supporting the wires as saidrotatable member revolves.

13. In an apparatus of the type described for coating bead cores, thecombination comprising a rotatable vmember, supporting means on saidmember, means for rotating said rotatable member and supporting meanscontinuously as said rotatable member rotates, and a pan supportedadjacent said rotatable member.

14. In an apparatus of the type described, means for supporting aplurality of wires upon which a number of beads are secured in spacedrelation, means for supporting a coating compound adjacent said meansfor supporting a plurality of wires, means for continuously moving saidmeans for supporting a plurality of wires adjacent said means forsupporting a coating compound, and means on said means for supportingacoating compound for contacting with Ythe wires as they move throughthe coating compound. 15. The method of coating beads and the like whichcomprises placing a plurality of them upon a straight support in spacedrelation and moving the support and beads along an arced path withrespect to a body of coating compound in a manner so that the beadsenter the coating compound one at a time.

16. The method of coating beads and the like which comprises placing aplurality of them upon a support in spaced relation, movi ing thesupport and beads at an angle with respect to a body of coating compoundin a manner so that the beads enter the coating compound one at a time,and simultaneously rotating the beads about their axes of support Calsthey move through the coating comoun p 17. The method of coatin beadsand the like which comprises providing a body of coating compound,supporting a plurality of beads in spaced relation, moving said beads toand into the coating compound so that thelower portion of the beadscontacts` with the coating compound and only one bead entersand leavesthe compound at a time whereby the wall of coating compound formed bythe capillary attraction between the .beads and coating compound recedesfrom bead to bead as they leave the compound and sucks o any excesscoatingcompound from each bead.

18. The method of coating beads and the like which comprises a body ofcoating compound, supporting a plurality of beads in spaced relation,moving said beads to and into a coating compound so that the lowerportion of the beads contacts with the coat` ing compound and only onebead enters and leaves the compound at a time whereby the wall ofcoating compound formed f'by the capillary attraction between the beadsand coating compound recedes from bead to bead as they leave thecompound and sucks off an excess coating compound from each bea andsimultaneously rotating said beads about their axes of support. v

19. The method of drying a plurality of beads which are supported inspaced relation vand have ybeen coated with a coating compound whichcomprises alternately raising and lowering the respective ends of thebeads during the drying operation while they are revolving.

20. The method of drying a plurality of beads which are supported inspaced relation yand have been coated with a coating com.

pound which comprises alternately raising and lowering the respectiveends of theV beads during the drying operation, and simultaneouslyrotating the beads about their axes.

21. The method of coatin beads which comprises supporting a plm-a ofbeads in spaced relation, providing a bodyy of coating compound, andmoving said beads towards and into the coating compound alon a circularpath and in a manner whereby t e beads contact with the coating compoundone after the other.

22. The method of coating beads which comprises supporting a pluralit ofbeads in spaced1 relation, providing a bo y of coating compound, movingsaid beads towards and into the coating compound along a circular pathand in a manner whereby the beads contact with the coating compound oneafter the other,'and continuing the movement of the beads with respectto the coating compound along a circular path in a manner to cause t-hebeads to leave the solution one after the other whereby the wall ofcoating compound raised by the capillar attraction between it and thebeads recedes rom one bead to the following beads as they leave thecoating compound to effect a complete removal of the excesscoating-compound from the beads by the capillary attraction between thewall of coating compound and the excess coating compound on the beads.

23. The method of coatin beads which comprises supporting a plura ity ofbeads in spaced relation, providing a body of coating compound, movingsaid beads towards and into the coating compound along a circular pathand in a manner whereby the beads contact with the coating compound oneafter the other, continuing the movement ofthe beads with respect to thecoating compound along a circular path in a manner to cause the beads toleave the solution one after the other whereby the wall of coatingcompound raised by the capillary attraction betweenit and the beadsrecedes from one bead to the following beads as they leave the coatingcompound to eect a complete removal of the excess coatingcompound fromthe beads by the capillary attrac' by the beads enter the coatingcompound one after the other.

25. The method of coating beads which comprises Stringing a plurality ofbeads in spaced relation upona supporting wire, providing a body ofcoating compound, advancing the supporting wire toward thel coatingcompound along a circular path with one end of the Wire in advance ofthe other whereby beads enter the coating compound one after theother,-and simultaneously rotatingthesupporting wire about its axis.

26. The method of coating beads which comprises Stringing a plurality ofbeads in spaced relation upon a supporting wire, providing a body ofcoating compound, advancing the supporting wire toward the coatingcompound along a circular path with one end of the wire in advance oftheother whereby beads enterthe coating compound one after the other, andcontinuing the movement of the supporting wire along a circular pathuntil the beads leave the solution, one end of the wire still in advanceof the other end whereby the wall of coating compounds recedes from onebead to the next following bead as they leave the solution to suck oli',excess coating compound from the beads.

27. The method of coating beads which,

comprises stringing a plurality of beads in spaced relation upon asupporting wire, providing a .body of coating compound, advancing thesupporting wire ltoward the coating compound along a circular path withone end of the wire in advance of the other where- -by beads enterthe'coatingcompound one after the other, and continuing the movement ofthe wire and beads along a circular path until they have traveledthrough a number of complete circles Vwith one end of the wire inadvance ofthe other so that the beads have their respective endsalternately raised andlowered to cause the coating compound to p owevenly over the surface of the beads. l

they have traveled through a number of complete circles with one end ofthe wire in advance of the other so that the vbeads havetheirvrespective ends alternately raised and loweredto cause the coatingcompound to flow evenly overthe surface of the beads, and simultaneouslyrotating the wires and beads about their axes.

29. The method. of coating beads which comprises providing a body ofcoating compound, stringing a plurality of beads in spaced relation uponla supporting wire and moving the supporting wire with respect to thebody of the coating compound so that one end of the wire is in advanceof the other whereby the bea-ds enter Vand leave the coating compoundone after the other with a movement having two components.

30. The method of coating beads which comprises providing a body ofcoating compound, stringing a plurality of beads 1n spaced relation upona supporting wire, moving the supporting wire with respect to the bodyof the coating 'compound so that one end of the wire is in advance ofthe other whereby the beads enter and leave the coating compound oneafter the other, and simultaneously rotating the wire and beads abouttheir axes.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 7th day ofNovember, A. D.

' MAXIMILIAN c. MEYER.

28. The method of coating beads which?r comprises Stringing a pluralityof beads in spaced relation upon a supporting wire, providing a body ofcoating compound, advancing the supporting Wire toward the coatingcompounds along a circular path with one end of the wire in advance ofthe other whereby beads enter the coating compound onei after theother,continuing the movement of the wire and beads along a circular pathuntil

